Sturgeon and North Saskatchewan Rivers

An early and warm spring has meant more kayaking. Jenn and I hit the Sturgeon again on the weekend. The water level was up some but paddling was still easy.

We saw a tonne of muskrats sunning themselves but no beaver. The dock is also in at the Riel Park launch.

The high water is a huge boon to kayaking on the Sturgeon and we'll be back to take advantage of the easier entry and lack of weeds.

A trip out to Elk Island was less successful with the shoreline and boat launch still iced in and a nasty wind blowing. But the North Saskatchewan is open and the water is still at summer levels.

I've been out a couple of times, putting in at Emily Murphy Park and paddling upstream. There is a new gravel bar about 700m upstream which offers a nice respite from the current.

The bare trees also reveal interesting things, like this abandoned staircase.

There has been a lot of beaver activity and I spent about 20 minutes watching one beaver on the south bank.

I also fished an unopened can of hard iced tea out of the water as I was paddling upstream.

Overall, great start to the season.